1. Field of the Invention
The present invention deals with the field of devices for underride protection. Many trucks and trailers include rear bumpers which are significantly higher than the other vehicles currently found on the highway. As a result, during accidents the other vehicles tend to ride under the rear of the trailer or the rear of the truck when colliding therewith.
Such underriding is a very dangerous occurrence because the upper portion of the smaller vehicle can be severely damaged and persons therein can be injured very significantly. The positioning of bumpers extending downwardly from the rear of trucks and trailers called safety bumpers which have been required by the Interstate Commerce Commission in recent years greatly decrease this danger.
A unique problem occurs, however, with those trucks or trailers which include an extended rear support bed which is movable between a horizontal position for transport and the downwardly inclined position to facilitate loading and unloading thereof. A sub-class of such devices include rolloff designs which move between the horizontal position for transporting containers and the downwardly inclined position for loading and unloading thereof. The use of an underride bumper with vehicles having a movable extended rear support bed is a significant problem since the underride bumpers normally extend downwardly therefrom and would contact the ground prior to the extended rear support bed reaching the fully downwardly inclined position in contact with the ground. As such, these safety bumpers need to be retractable. The present invention provides a unique automated retractable safety bumper which is movable to a retracted position when the extended rear support bed is moved to the downwardly inclined position and is moved to a deployed position when the extended rear support bed of a vehicle is moved to the horizontal position. This movement is caused by a biasing means such as a spring carefully adjusted such that in combination with the gravitational forces on the bumper will cause proper coordinated movement thereof responsive to the selected positioning of the extended rear support bed. Preferably the bumper apparatus includes a bumper assembly which is pivotally mounted with respect to a main bracket and the position of the pivotal mount and the configuration of the bumper assembly is chosen along with the forces of the resilient biasing means or spring in such a manner as to assure such proper coordinated movement.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The concept of the above-identified invention wherein a safety bumper for underride protection is automatically retractable, is a novel concept not shown or suggested in the prior art. Other prior art patents, however, have been granted on similar underride and protected bumper configurations having different structures and embodiments such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,096 patented May 15, 1973 on a xe2x80x9cBumper Devicexe2x80x9d to Karl Kassbohrer and assigned to Karl Kassbohrer Fahrzengwerke GmbH; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,427 patented Nov. 12, 1974 on a xe2x80x9cShiftable Shock Absorbing Tire Bufferxe2x80x9d to Cheston Lee Eshelman; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,871,695 patented Mar. 18, 1975 on a xe2x80x9cFolding Truck Bumperxe2x80x9d to Robert W. Koenig; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,913,963 patented Oct. 21, 1975 on a xe2x80x9cShock Or Energy Absorbing Apparatusxe2x80x9d to Gunter Persicke and assigned to Road Research Limited; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,923,330 patented Dec. 2, 1975 on a xe2x80x9cArticulated Bumperxe2x80x9d to Charles S. Viall, Sr. et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,992,047 patented Nov. 16, 1976 on a xe2x80x9cMotor Actuated Shiftable Supplemental Bumperxe2x80x9d to Bela Barenyi et al and assigned to Daimler-Benz Aktiengesellschaft; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,359,239 patented Nov. 16, 1982 on a xe2x80x9cUnderride Device For A Trailer Or Truckxe2x80x9d to Walter S. Eggert, Jr. and assigned to The Budd Company; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,410,207 patented Oct. 18, 1983 on a xe2x80x9cBumper Structure For Vehicle Having Tiltable Load Carrier Memberxe2x80x9d to Heino W. Scharf and assigned to Dempster Systems Inc.; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,147 patented Sep. 23, 1986 on a xe2x80x9cRear Underride Bumper And Side-Draft Supportxe2x80x9d to Gusta Kjellqvist and assigned to AB Mahler and Soner; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,770 patented Dec. 25, 1990 on a xe2x80x9cBumper Having Pivotal Bumper Bar For Heavy Mechanized Vehiclesxe2x80x9d to Dan J. Shal-Bar; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,507,546 patented Apr. 16, 1996 on an xe2x80x9cUnderride Protection Bumperxe2x80x9d to John D. Holley; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,518 patented May 27, 1997 on a xe2x80x9cRear Impact Trailer Guardxe2x80x9d to Donald H. Kendall and assigned to The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Army; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,953 patented Oct. 7, 1997 on a xe2x80x9cBreakaway ICC Bumperxe2x80x9d to Donald R. Spease; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,691 patented Apr. 25, 2000 on xe2x80x9cAutomatic Underride Protection For Tilt Trailersxe2x80x9d to Brian H. Weseman and assigned to Towmaster, Inc.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,329 patented May 30, 2000 on a xe2x80x9cRear-Impact Underride Protectionxe2x80x9d to Terrance L. Miller and assigned to Wenger corporation; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,629 patented Jul. 18, 2000 on a xe2x80x9cUnderrun Guard For Road Vehiclesxe2x80x9d to Frederick John Charles Hope et al and assigned to Hope Technical Sales and Services Ltd.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,109,675 patented Aug. 29, 2000 on a xe2x80x9cHinged Member For Rear Impact Guardxe2x80x9d to Doyle Sumrall and assigned to Waltco Truck Equipment Co.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,667 patented Sep. 12, 2000 on a xe2x80x9cTrailer Underride Crash Guardxe2x80x9d to Albert Torcomian; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,176,529 patented Jan. 23, 2001 on a xe2x80x9cTorsional Under-Ride Guardxe2x80x9d to James A. Kitzmiller et al and assigned to Henschen div. of QDS Components; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,176,530 patented Jan. 23, 2001 on a xe2x80x9cDevice For Underrun Protection In Vehiclesxe2x80x9d to Peter Gollungberg and assigned to Volvo Lastvagnar AB; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,544 patented Jan. 30, 2001 on xe2x80x9cUnderride Protectionxe2x80x9d to Brian Weseman and assigned to Towmaster, Inc.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,394,734 patented May 28, 2002 on a xe2x80x9cTrailer Having Actuatable Tail Rampxe2x80x9d to Donald R. Landoll et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,556 patented Sep. 17, 2002 on a xe2x80x9cUnder-Ride Protection Airbag System And Method of Its Usexe2x80x9d to Tony J. Jacobs and assigned to Lifesavers LLC.
The present invention provides a retractable safety bumper apparatus which is particularly usable with the vehicle having an extended rear support bed which is movable between a horizontal position for facilitating transport thereupon and a downwardly inclined position for facilitating loading and unloading thereof.
The configuration of the retractable safety bumper apparatus preferably includes a main bracket which is fixedly secured to the extended rear support bed of the vehicle and extends downwardly therefrom. This main bracket is preferably movable with the extended rear support bed between a horizontal position and the downwardly inclined position. The main bracket preferably is configured to include a base section fixedly mounted to the extended rear support bed as well as a first side panel secured to the base section and extending downwardly therefrom. The first side panel also preferably defines a first aperture extending therethrough. A second side panel is preferably also secured to the base section at a location spatially distant from the first side panel such that it extends downwardly therefrom. This second side panel will preferably define a second aperture therewithin. The first side panel and the second side panel together will define a pivotal zone therebetween. A pivot pin means may also be included extending through the first aperture means and through the second aperture means to facilitate pivotal movement relative thereto. This pivot pin means can comprise two separate pins, one extending through the first aperture and one extending through the second aperture if so desired.
The retractable safety bumper apparatus further includes a bumper assembly which is pivotally mounted with respect to the main bracket. The bumper assembly is preferably pivotally movable relative to the main bracket between a deployed position extending downwardly and away therefrom and a retracted position extending longitudinally adjacent therebeneath. The bumper assembly is preferably adapted to pivot to the deployed position responsive to positioning of the main bracket in the horizontal position. The bumper assembly is preferably pivotally movably mounted with respect to the main bracket within the pivotal zone defined between the first and second side panels. The bumper assembly is preferably attached with respect to the pivot pin to facilitate pivoting movement thereof relative to the main bracket. The bumper assembly is also urged to move to the deployed position responsive to gravitational force being exerted thereupon responsive to movement of the extended rear support bed to the horizontal position.
The bumper assembly further preferably includes a bumper support arm pivotally attached with respect to the main bracket and extending outwardly therefrom. Also included is a bumper bar fixedly secured to the bumper support arm to be pivotally movable therewith and extend generally horizontally beneath the extended rear support bed in order to provide underride protection therebeneath. The bumper assembly also preferably will include a bumper support strut fixedly secured to the bumper support arm and extending outwardly away therefrom. The bumper support strut is preferably pivotally secured with respect to the main bracket to provide relative pivotal movement between the bumper assembly and the main bracket. It also facilitates movement of the bumper assembly selectively to the deployed position responsive to the exertion of gravitational forces on the bumper assembly.
The retractable safety bumper apparatus of the present invention further includes a biasing means secured with respect to the main bracket and with respect to the bumper assembly which is adapted to exert force on the bumper assembly for urging movement thereof toward the retracted position. This biasing means preferably comprises a main spring. This main spring biasing means is adapted to urge movement of the bumper assembly to the retracted position responsive to movement of the main bracket to the downwardly inclined position. Preferably the main spring biasing means is attached with respect to the main bracket and attached with respect to the bumper assembly for the purpose of urging the bumper assembly to pivot toward the retracted position extending longitudinally beneath the extended rear support bed and thereadjacent. It is also responsive to the extended rear support bed being in the downwardly inclined position with the gravitational force exerted upon the bumper being less than the force exerted thereupon by the main spring biasing means to facilitate movement of the bumper assembly to the retracted position. Also responsive to the extended rear support bed being in the horizontal position the gravitational forces exerted upon the bumper assembly will be greater than the force exerted thereupon by the main spring biasing means and in this manner will facilitate movement of the bumper assembly to the deployed position.
The invention may optionally further include an adjustment mechanism operatively connected to the main biasing spring means for controlling the force exerted therefrom. This adjustment construction provides a unique capability and is positioned preferably between the main spring and the bumper assembly to facilitate varying of the relative positioning therebetween to provide adjustment of the force exerted by the main spring between the main bracket and the bumper assembly for the purpose of accurately controlling movement of the bumper assembly between the deployed position and the retracted position in a responsive and coordinated manner relative to the extended rear support bed being movable between the horizontal position for transport and the downwardly inclined position for facilitating loading and unloading.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a retractable safety bumper apparatus which is usable with a truck or trailer vehicle having an extended rear support bed movable between a horizontal position for transport and a downwardly inclined position for loading and unloading.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a retractable safety bumper apparatus which provides automatic underride protection for vehicles with extended rear support beds.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a retractable safety bumper apparatus which is particularly usable for providing underride protection for vehicles having an extended rear support bed movable between a horizontal position for transport and a downwardly inclined position for loading and unloading such as rollback truck and trailer configurations.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a retractable safety bumper apparatus which is easy to adjust to maintain proper coordinated movement thereof responsive to movement of an extended rear support bed to a downwardly inclined position.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a retractable safety bumper apparatus which automatically deploys responsive to an extended rear support bed being in a horizontal position which automatically retracts responsive to an extended rear support bed being in a downwardly inclined position.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a retractable safety bumper apparatus which includes no electrical powering components whatsoever.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a retractable safety bumper apparatus which is powered solely by gravitational force on the moment arm of a bumper assembly which is pivotally mounted with respect to a main bracket in combination with forces exerted therebetween by a biasing means.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a retractable safety bumper apparatus wherein the forces exerted by a main spring biasing means are adjustable to assure proper coordinated movement of the bumper assembly relative to the vehicle extended rear support bed.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a retractable safety bumper apparatus which includes a minimal number of moving parts.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a retractable safety bumper apparatus which is easily and conveniently maintained.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a retractable safety bumper apparatus which does not require any external electrical or hydraulic power takeoff mechanisms for operation thereof.